Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) praised House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in an interview with Politico, saying that he and the Democrat leader have “more in common than people might think.”
Johnson said about Jeffries:
I have. Hakeem is a good man. We’ve worked well together. We have a lot more in common than people might think. You know, he’s from New York and I’m from Louisiana. While we have lots of disagreements on policies and the fine points of policy, I think you can appreciate people for who they are as a person. I think that’s what we’re called to do. And he and I both kind of share the worldview on that. I can appreciate that he’s a good family man. We have a lot in common in that regard. And he lost his father recently, I lost mine three days before I got elected to Congress. We’ve talked about that.
…
And I think what we’ve appreciated about one another is that I believe that when Hakeem Jeffries is telling me something, I believe he’s telling me the truth. I believe he is a man of his word. And I think he believes that about me as well. That’s a big thing in Washington. You know, trust is a rare commodity around here. [Emphasis added]
Johnson also said that he has found it “really refreshing” to know that Jeffries is “shooting straight.”
Politico continued:
That would have been highly debatable not long ago, but Johnson is enjoying a period of renewed respect, particularly after avoiding a shutdown and pushing through aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Most House Republicans are now more frustrated with far-right members who make Johnson’s life difficult than they are with Johnson. Democrats rewarded him for his streak of responsible governing by saving him from a motion to vacate.
Politico also wrote that Johnson was able to “neuter” Trump during the final stages of the foreign aid debate and oppose Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) move to oust Johnson as the leader of the House.
